The Fight Against Illegal Logging In The DRC

One year on since the European Union’s Timber Regulation (EUTR) legislation came into force, prohibiting the trading of illegally harvested timber (and timber products) in the European market, Greenpeace and their partners have found a number of high profile cases of illegal wood from companies in the DRC (some with links to human rights violations) have entered the EU. If the EUTR is not fully enforced, national laws will continue to be broken, forested areas will continue to be illegally destroyed and communities will go on suffering in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

3 March 2014, marks exactly a year since the European Timber Regulation (EUTR) came into force. The legislation prohibits illegal timber or timber products being placed on the EU market and is part of worldwide efforts to stop deforestation. Much of the illegal timber entering Europe comes from countries in the Congo basin, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where forest governance is weak.